


Procrastination

by thrillingsentience



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Genre: Gen, link needs better time management, relaxation hours, tatl is tired of his shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-04-12 02:17:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19122562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thrillingsentience/pseuds/thrillingsentience
Summary: Link, the one who could bend time at his own will, inevitably was the one to let it slip through his hands like sand in an hourglass. Maybe he had been procrastinating a bit…A short little thing of Link thinking about his journey in Termina so far.





	Procrastination

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a few years ago, and after retouching it a bit to make it flow better, I decided to post it here instead of keeping it to rot in my Drive for any longer. Hope ya enjoy. It's just a simple story.

Three days.

Just three days until the world ends.

There was no time to waste, but that was one reason why Link  _ was _ wasting it. As he sat atop the unfinished festival tower, his gaze wanted to drift to the large, snarling moon that continuously loomed over the world, but his eyes strayed down to the people in Clocktown instead. The denizens of the remarkably sized city all carried on with their day without a second doubt of the moon, though Link has seen how it all plays out. By the third and final day all these lively people will be terrified and in a panicking rush to find some sort of shelter to the crashing moon. The whole town would be empty before evening could arrive, and only a few questionably brave citizens would face the inevitability together. 

Link’s legs hung over the edge of the tower and leisurely kicked at the air. It was only the first day, he had two days left of this cycle, then it was on to the next one. That was his cheat—the endless cycles of time brought to him by one simple song he had learned in what felt like a lifetime ago. The Hylian didn’t even know how much time had passed since the very first day he arrived in Termina. The only measurement he got were the three day cycles, then more three day cycles, then even more three day cycles. A whole year could have passed without him knowing. 

Link often wondered what was going on in Hyrule, hopefully nothing terrible while he was away. It was still his home, after all. But a dread tugged on his stomach every time he thought about that faraway land. The longer his mind wandered to Hyrule, the easier it was to inflict small doubts in his mind of ever returning to his true home. The idea of being trapped in Termina struck him strangely at first—it didn’t sit right with him for a few day cycles—then, reluctantly, he came to terms with the fact there was no possible way to ever get back.

Torn away from his lingering thoughts, Link’s eyes scanned the air around him for the familiar yellow glow of Tatl, but he couldn’t spot her amongst the bustling crowd. Tatl was an odd fairy, or at least way different than Link’s previous companion, Navi. Tatl was bold and kind of rude, until you got to know her better,  _ kinda _ . There were still times where she’d slap Link across the head, because he wasn’t  _ using his time well. _ Luckily, she was nowhere to be seen, otherwise he’d have a large bruise right about now. Navi was different, way different. Where she would tell Link when to duck, or when there were enemies nearby, Tatl would complain every time he got knocked over by some monster or lagged behind. But, in a way, the two fairies shared some similarities. They were both bold, they both cared for Link—even if it were in two completely opposite ways. And Link, surprisingly enough, was glad Tatl had tagged along with him. He couldn’t imagine trying to traipse the once unfamiliar land of Termina alone, even if his companion was slightly…abrasive. 

His attention turned back to the Clocktown citizens below. He saw the Bomber Kids weaving through the crowd in the square, chasing a poor dog that only wanted to sleep in peace. A part of Link wouldn’t mind staying in Termina—it was a peaceful place, minus the fact that the moon was due to fall in about 72 hours now, give-or-take. But he knew staying would never happen. He didn’t really belong here, and maybe once he solved the woes that trouble Termina, he’d find Hyrule again…    
  
It was a hopeful thought, but once again the doubts that clung to the far reaches of his mind resurfaced at the mention of the lost kingdom. 

Before Link’s mind could relapse back into a maelstrom of those lingering doubts, a distant call that sounded close to his name caused the cloudy thoughts to abruptly fade. His ears twitched as he looked around for whoever was trying to get his attention—the voice was familiar, and as it got closer and broke the din of the Clocktown denizens going about their day—Link could make it out Tatl. Soon after he matched the voice to the person, he saw the little fairy flittering through the crowd, until she caught sight of him upon the festival tower and flew over in a rush. 

“There you are! I turn my back for a  _ second _ and you disappear on me! What are you doing? We should be at the bayside by now!”

Link looked up at the fairy—who was now inches from his face—which caused him to cross his eyes to focus on her. From this close up, he could see her small body through the blinding yellow glow—and she did  _ not  _ looked pleased. Link scooted backwards towards the middle of the platform he was seated on and crossed his legs. His shoulders raised in a non committed shrug.

“Oh,  _ come on! _ ” Tatl dipped in the air. “Three days! Probably even less than that now! Doesn’t that mean  _ anything _ to you?”

“Can’t I take a breather?”

“No! After we stop Skull Kid and  _ that _ ,” she gestured towards the snarling moon, “then you can ‘take a breather’” she raised air quotes, then stuck her hands on her hips. “You, of all people, should be the one to know that!”

Link leaned back on the wooden plank, until he lay flat on his back on the wooden surface. His eyes were closed, because even if the moon was around all the time, the sun was still as blinding as ever. “I have my ocarina.”

“...I know that!”

“Then why are you worrying?”

“It’s just—!”

The Hylian sat up again and faced the small ball of light. His eyebrow raised slightly, then he smiled and raised a hand placatingly, “I know, I know. The faster we go, the faster this whole thing is over with.” He turned to Tatl once he heard her scoff.

“Link, please,” she deadpanned. “ _ Tael  _ is with Skull Kid. And we all know how  _ that _ plays out.” Link winced at Tatl’s tone, and as the memory resurfaced of Tael getting hit around by Skull Kid atop the Clock Tower. Tatl had a point—and Link felt bad for making the fairy feel this way. He knew she was worried about her brother more than anything.

“Okay… Okay, right I’m sorry.”

Tatl let out a small, content sigh, then parked herself on Link’s shoulder. After a brief moment of comfortable silence, Tatl spoke up again, “245, by the way.”

“Excuse me?” Link turned his head to the side so he could look at Tatl.

“245. We’ve been through 245 cycles, about to be 246 if you keep wasting time like this. I’ve been counting.”   
  
“....What?” 

Had it really been that much?

Link’s hands clutched at the smooth wood beneath him. That couldn’t be right… The cycles felt less than that—there was no way he could have backpedaled through the river of time  _ that _ much. Link shook his head in uncertainty, his steely gaze was now on the horizon that was outlined with the confining walls of the town. Tatl had to be wrong, right? But the more he thought about the fairy’s words, the more it clicked into place. All the hardships, the idle exploring… the relaxing. Link, the one who could bend time at his own will, inevitably was the one to let it slip through his hands like sand in an hourglass. Maybe he  _ had _ been procrastinating a bit… 

He reach over to his side, where his trusted, and newly upgraded, Gilded Sword lay along with his shield. He grabbed onto the belt and slung it over his shoulder. The sword sheath and shield clattered together with each step he took down the streets of Clocktown, but the noise was a steady reminder of what he tried to do day in and day out. Link didn’t  _ feel _ like a hero, even after all that happened back in his home world. His heart was filled with empathy and he believed his morals to be in the right direction—if that was what made a hero, he could easily point out people more noble than he. Saving the world on Link’s part was just an accidental accomplishment along the way. 

In Hyrule and—hopefully soon—in Termina, too.


End file.
